Temporary or short term fencing and hoarding is commonplace on building sites and shopping centres and is erected usually around the site perimeter to provide security from intruders and to prevent unauthorized entry. In many applications temporary fencing comprises a footing, usually made from concrete into which poles are inserted and wire, which is most commonly open weave mesh, strung between the poles to provide a secure fence enclosure. The footings are usually simply placed on the ground around the site at appropriate intervals and the poles simply inserted. This allows rapid erection of the temporary fence.
A hoarding provides greater visual screening than a fence but has the disadvantage of carrying a greater wind loading. In a situation where hoardings are to be attached to a temporary fence, additional mass of the concrete footing is required to ensure the fence will not topple in the case of extreme wind gusts. Extra mass footings are now mandated by engineering standards and building codes to ensure safety in temporary fences designed that carry hoardings.
One means to ensure temporary fences and hoardings meet appropriate standards is to bury the concrete base supports into the ground or to make on-site poured concrete footings. However such provisions are both expensive and time consuming, and sometimes impractical on a finished surface or internal building location.
Systems exist for retaining hoarding posts by means of weights placed onto feet attached to the bottoms of the posts. An example is described in Australian patent application no. 2012203098. However the components of that system are relatively complex and expensive to manufacture. The upstanding member in the support assembly has a specific size to the height of the stack of weights and the locking arrangement and the weights above the weights protrudes in an ungainly manner. The locking arrangement can also be readily removed by unauthorized personnel which could render the structure unsafe.
An aim of some embodiments of the present invention is to provide relocatable ground mounted concrete footings and support assemblies which can be used for temporary fencing and hoardings and that meet the appropriate standards for safety and engineering requirements, but which at the same time are easy to place and do not require any burying of the footings or the use of extra mass concrete pouring.